Ireland rattle Italy at Aviva

A comprehensive overall performance from Ireland as they saw off the Azzuri on Lansdowne Road.

There was real concern for Ireland right out of the gate, with Tadhg Furlong going off injured after just 3 minutes. He was replaced by Andrew Porter.

Furlong wasn’t the only one to fall victim to proceedings, Robbie Henshaw, who scored a brace of tries, had to go off after his second try and Ireland’s fifth of the game. He was tackled while in the process of scoring, jarred his elbow and looked to have dislocated his shoulder. As a result Jordan Larmour was sprung from the bench to make his international debut.

By that stage, Ireland had the bonus point in the bag thanks to tries from Henshaw, Conor Murray, Bundee Aki and Keith Earls, all by the 35th minute.

Jonathan Sexton on fine form kicking all the conversions, including Henshaws second, he was later replaced by Joey Carbery who kept on the stats, following further scores from Rory Best and Jacob Stockdale, who scored twice.

The Azzuri did get on the scoreboard on the 56th minute. It was easy work for outhalf Tommaso Allan running in an straightforward score. They added a second, with Sergio Parisse throwing the most forward pass you’ll ever see in a Rugby match for Edoardo Gori to score. Romain Poite went to the TMO, but baffled the crowd by awarding the try.

Late on, Matteo Minozzi scored a third for Conor O’Shea’s side.

Plenty of tries but still plenty to work on for Ireland in the weeks break next week, before welcoming Wales here the week after.